The use of amine oxide surfactants in cleaning compositions is known. Amine oxides are commonly used as cosurfactants to boost and maintain suds formation in laundry, shampoo, and dishwashing detergent compositions. Amine oxides have been used in hard surface cleaners such as acidic toilet bowl cleaners (pH of 2 or less), dishwashing liquids containing occlusive emollients (pH of 4 to 6.9), and selected non-acidic (neutral to alkaline) hard surface cleaners. In non-acidic hard surface cleaners, amine oxide detergent surfactants are essentially non-ionic (pK.sub.a between about 4 and about 6). These nonionic amine oxides provide good cleaning properties and leave little or no visible residue on hard surfaces when they dry.
Quats U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,935, issued to Kupneski, Jul. 25, 1995, herein incorporated by reference, disclose the use of quaternary ammonium (quats) compounds in alkaline liquid hard surface cleaning compositions.
Non-acidic hard surface cleaners containing amine oxides will stain or discolor vinyl (polyvinyl chloride) surfaces. The staining amounts to a light yellow to dark brown discoloration of the vinyl. Staining will also occur on waxed vinyl surfaces where areas of wax are worn thin or are chipped away so that the amine oxide can come in direct contact with the vinyl.
Co-pending and commonly assigned, U.S. patent application Serial No. 08/412,622 (P&G Case 4980R), Wierenga, discloses a mildly acidic hard surface cleaning composition containing amine oxide surfactant with quaternary ammonium disinfectants (quats). However, the compositions, per se, at acidic pH's are incompatible with quaternary ammonium disinfectants in that the quats loose their ability to disinfect.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a hard surface cleaning composition containing mildly acidic amine oxide detergent surfactants that will disinfect and clean with minimal or no vinyl staining.
Another object of the invention to provide such a composition which will disinfect and not leave a visible residue on cleaned surfaces.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a process for cleaning vinyl surfaces using such a composition.